


sometimes a bad dream can be a good thing

by MacaronWhip



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Fluff, HPA AU. kinda. you can read it as something else tho its not really specific, In This House We Use 'Ouma', M/M, author is dumb and american and uses first names for literally everything except dialogue, i havent written in a while and uh oh! whoops! i have no idea if this is OOC or not!, idk how or what to tag uhh, no beta we die like men, possibly super OOC, rated T purely cause theres like two swear words
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-26 09:51:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14998283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MacaronWhip/pseuds/MacaronWhip
Summary: Kokichi has a bad dream and bothers Kaito, because who else would he bother in the dead of night? It's not his fault the idiot extended his offer for help "any time he needs it" when he started to try befriending him.Or that's what he tells himself, anyways.





	sometimes a bad dream can be a good thing

**Author's Note:**

> hi! im new here! i havent written in actual years and this is the first thing i typed out in a while cause i project a lot onto my interests and faves and this ended up happening. i figured since its a whole story i should post it? maybe ill write more to kinda explain my headcanons and stuff, haha
> 
> ill at least drop a few headcanons in the end note though so some stuff will be a little clear at least? i know what i headcanon and all, so im not too sure just how vague the writing is oops

Kokichi Ouma does not have good dreams. It was an unspoken truth. You could take one look at him and assume he must not sleep well often enough due to the ever present, although faint, dark circles under those violet eyes. He might deflect such an assumption and say it's just a permanent side effect of all the downright inhuman expressions he often wears to mess with others, but it'd all be lies. Such an assumption would actually be exactly correct. That's not to say all his dreams are bad though. No, sometimes they're surreal, all too vivid yet nonsensical, like stepping into a strange new wonderland and being happily at home within it. Sometimes they're like his normal life but with a different twist, like some kind of alternate world, or something straight out of a movie. Sometimes he doesn't dream at all and is left with an always empty and unsatisfying rest.

Tonight though, his dreams were...antagonistic. Not enough to be called a nightmare, that was a word reserved for the worst of the worst. Reserved for when the past haunted him even in his sleep, curled its fingers around his throat and offered no more than a cruel smile despite his pleads for it to stop _please_ stop, _oh god, he can't breathe and he's not in control, he can't even move his own limbs and there's hands all over him keeping him in place, keeping him from escaping his hell and making him dance to their tune and now he's woken up in a sweat and shaking but it still feels real, it's still happening, please just make it STOP-_

Antagonistic. That word was used for when the usual dreams hit a touch too hard, had a spin on them that was a little too intense. In this particular instance, the recurring theme of being singled out and tracked down and killed was present during an especially clear experience involving him being lost in a city he didn't know. _Fun!_

......Not. In fact, it was so 'not fun' that he'd been shaking so hard he woke himself up. But it was just a dream, it wasn't real, he was okay. Of course he knew this, but the communication between common sense and every other part of his mind apparently wasn't working at the moment as he was still just as shaken up as he was in his awful dreamland. But could anyone blame him for being nervous and scared after dreaming about something like that? Surely not.

Surely, it was for the same reasons that he'd found himself rolling out of bed and sneaking down the hall to stand in front of a certain to-be astronaut's door at damn near 4 in the morning.

It wasn't too unusual for him to be bothering the Ultimate Astronaut, it wasn't like he and Kaito hated each other. Well, okay, it was unusual given the hour, and Kaito certainly used to have a strong dislike for the little liar but that changed eventually. It only took quite some time and maybe a rare moment where the Ultimate Supreme Leader wasn't lying all over the place, plus an even rarer moment of weakness that he couldn't quite cover up. Small moments with smaller pieces of information, but they were significant enough for Kaito to extend his hand and reach out to help the leader as he did his other friends, sans the sidekick title given Kokichi's talent. While there were a few times he absolutely did, Kokichi didn't end up entirely regretting opening up just the tiniest bit. He wouldn't admit it aloud, but having Kaito so persistently on his case about lying and covering up his true feelings and oh-so-obnoxiously looking out for him made him feel like the idiot really cared about him. It made him feel all fuzzy and weird and he _definitely_ didn't know what this feeling was and he hated it.

…He could almost hear the space idiot's words about how he needed to stop lying to himself float through his head with that thought each time it passed. And it passed often enough that it was starting to become a problem.

He knocked on the door gently at first before devolving into a series of rapid raps of his knuckles that'd test even the patience of the mother-figure of a maid they shared class with. Soon enough, the door cracked and quietly creaked as it opened further to reveal a still sleepy Kaito, hair mussed from how he was clearly peacefully asleep just moments before. Kokichi, still a little shaky but masking it well enough with the shadows of the hall, offered up a smile that'd rival the innocence of an angel. Kaito had been far too used to this particular smile as well as too used to the tiny gremlin in general to do much else other than quirk an eyebrow up, clearly unamused to see the boy before him. “Ouma? This better not be a joke or- huh? W-wait-” He'd almost started on about how late it was and that he wasn't ready or willing to deal with any of the typical nonsense, but the leader pushed right past him and entered his room without an apparent care, much less an invitation.

“Surprise sleepover! I'm staying here for the rest of the night!” Kaito could only watch, clearly a little – no, _very much_ – bewildered as Kokichi declared that then promptly plopped down onto his bed. He scooped up one of the blankets and settled himself half under it, making himself comfy with one of his signature grins beaming off his face as he did so. It wasn't like he was about to admit to being scared. Playing like it's all just messing around like normal should be fine, right? Except it clearly wasn't as when Kaito had finally got his bearings, he only sighed and shut the door before turning to give Kokichi a look that might as well have been outright saying 'you've never done anything like this before, I know something's up, you oughta explain'.

Too stubborn to give it up and too closed-off to tell the truth, Kokichi retaliated with a pout and put on that infamous face that could be likened to a kicked puppy, the same one that usually preceded his equally – if not more so – infamous crocodile tears. “What? You don't believe me? I-I....I just wanted to sleep with Momota-chan, is that really so hard t-to believe..?” He was fully ready and about to launch into the waterworks until he was interrupted.

“Yeah actually, it is. You usually tease and fling insults like there's so tomorrow, now you're outright wanting to be around? And at like, 2AM? You're normally a little asshole, but this is just weird.” Kaito was a bit quiet, still recovering from his slumber being put to a stop, but his confidence was all the same. Hell, he looked like he was forcing himself to wake up more for this even. Or maybe it was that this was too weird and the situation was enough to make him a little more alert and awake, it was hard to tell which. Either way though, the to-be astronaut came over and took a seat on the bed beside the other. “...So what's up? You gotta have a reason for coming here, right?”

That bit about Kokichi not always regretting opening up a teensy bit to Kaito? He's regretting it right now. Of course the idiot had to catch on that he'd always had reasons behind his actions. Well, mostly anyways. Again though, he was just a tad too stubborn to give in yet. “Actually, it's closer to 4AM, and you got me! I lied! The truth is that there was this huge spider in my room and I got freaked out and booked it straight here! Soooooo clearly I gotta bunk with you tonight!” It wasn't his best lie, but it was late, he was tired and so was Kaito, he could afford to slack off a little.

Or he couldn't. Kaito kept up his unamused gaze. “If there was a spider, why didn't you go get Gonta? That guy would probably jump at the chance to save any bug from your mess of a room.” 

“Ooh, you got me again! That was another lie! You're pretty smart for someone who looks like they just rolled out of a coffin!” Maybe if he deflected long enough, Kaito would just give up and let it be. He'd already shut the door and wasn't seeming to be kicking him out anytime soon, so Kokichi nestled himself fully under the blanket, still shining his grin up at the taller boy all the while.

“I'm gonna ignore that coffin thing, but something's gotta be really up. Did you just call me _smart?_ ”

Damn. There goes the grin, wiped right off the liar's face and replaced by a rather blank look. The space idiot wasn't an idiot for once and noticed his slip up. He wasn't gonna get out of this any other way, was he. And he really did want to go back to sleep....and Kaito probably did too. So, he complied, being the one to give up instead. “...I had a bad dream.” Very matter-of-fact. He could at least pretend he was going out of this the way he wanted to.

Kaito seemed taken aback for a moment, a slight pause of silence settling over them as he needed a second to process the admission. “Huh? A bad dream?” He repeated him, almost needing confirmation that that was indeed what was said.

The liar simply huffed, burying himself a little further into the blankets as if that'd put more space between himself, his brief vulnerability, and Kaito. “Yeah yeah, listen I'm not keen on it but I am trying that whole 'trusting you' crap right now that you always yap about, so don't screw this up or kick me out or tell anyone, or I'll have to sic my whole organization on you. You won't be disaster free for weeks if you do, Momota-chan.” The threat sounded almost hollow as it slipped from his mouth, clear enough that it was completely empty but certainly meant he'd be more than a little upset at the very least. As if Kaito would pick up on that though, much less a tired Kaito. But who knows?

Another pause, another few beats of nothing but quiet washing over them rather than lies and exasperated reasoning. And then there was suddenly a hand gently ruffling hair, the leader squeaking in surprise as the astronaut chuckled. “You won't have to do that, don't worry. How many times have I said that you can trust the Luminary of the Stars? Unlike a certain someone, I ain't lying all the time.” Kaito was the one flashing a grin now, full of warmth and trust and a whole lot of all that other mushy feel-good stuff he always preached about.

This wasn't an entire surprise – the hand in his hair was though – , so it wasn't too hard to bounce back to Kokichi's usual antics. “You're vagueing me right in front of my face? Th-that's so cruel....” Another pre-waterworks expression, and then it was gone again just as quickly as it came, replaced by a fairly neutral if not questioning look. “Buuuuuuuuut does this mean I can stay here? You're not making me take the walk of shame, are you?”

Kaito's grin eased down into a smile, just as he was similarly removing his hand and easing down to lay beside the smaller boy. “Sure, yeah, you're welcome here. So long as you don't mind sharing a bed since this is the only one I have.”

“Jeez, I'm stuck sharing a bed with you.....Y'know, this is just the sort of thing Shirogane-chan would probably blab about reading in like, a fanfiction or something-”

“Y'know, I'm glad you're back to your usual self, but it's 2AM-”

“4AM.”

“Go to sleep, Kokichi.”

“Nishishi~” His unusual giggle was quieter than usual, clearly tired and more ready to settle for the night than he was playing it up. Kaito did have a point, and he was feeling sleepy again. From the way the taller boy's eyes were already closed and his breathing evening out, it seemed he felt the same. He might've joked about it, but having Kaito so close-by was.....comforting. He doubted the same dream would happen again and even if it did, he was beside someone who was too stupidly nice to get mad if he were to wake him up again because of it. It was a nice thought. He still didn't fully trust the astronaut, but maybe he would. In time. Maybe with a lot of thinking too.

It wasn't long before Kokichi finally fell asleep, scooting a little closer to Kaito before he did. He'd sooner lie than admit he wanted to be closer to him though, even when he woke up in the morning damn near cuddling up against Kaito. Since he had the luck of being the one who woke up first, nobody had to know that he stayed there, feigning sleep and maybe sort of savoring the moment while it lasted. Nobody had to know that he continued to stay content in his cuddling even when the other boy slung an arm around him in his sleep. Nobody had to know how Kokichi nuzzled his cheek ever so slightly against Kaito's shoulder to return the affection. However, _everyone_ was sure going to hear the next day about how Kaito jumped and nearly squealed when he'd awoken a little later and realized he was embracing the supreme leader.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!
> 
> onto those headcanons!  
> i personally hc kokichi as mentally ill (i could get into the specifics but i might leave that for another fic,,,) and as someone whos a lot less.....like That in non-despair AUs. you know what im talking about. if you dont, i mean the whole 'big evil gremlin' thing. i think non-despair kokichi is more just 'little prank gremlin' pffft. and this is more me projecting than anything but i like to hc that kokichi has Intense nightmares. oof  
> those 'moments' mentioned with how kaito's opinion and attitude to kokichi turned around are particularly just small hints to how hes not exactly the most mentally healthy person around  
> as for kaito, i like to hc him as being a bit more tolerant of kokichis Antics and Shenanigans in a non-despair au given that the situation isnt so serious


End file.
